Departing Penrith Panther Reagan Campbell-Gillard hated footy this year
The 2019 NRL season left a bad taste in the mouth of Reagan Campbell-Gillard as the departing Penrith Panther speaks out ahead of his highly anticipated move to Parramatta.
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Parramatta-bound Reagan Campbell-Gillard “hated” rugby league this season.
A local Penrith product who made his debut with the Panthers in 2015, Campbell-Gillard also said his decision to leave was the most difficult of his career.
“I’ve known this club for nearly 10 years,” Campbell-Gillard said. “You want to be a one-club man, but we’re in a business that doesn’t allow you for it.
“I’m nervous, excited, but sad at the same time, to move on.”
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In a year when he started 20 of his 23 matches off the bench, the former Kangaroos star said it was one of his most challenging.
“It was one of those years that I really want to forget,” the 26-year-old said. “I really hated rugby league this year. It’s just been a frustrating year.
“Towards the back end I was starting to find my groove again and feeling confident. I just gotta take that as motivation into a good pre-season.”
Penrith last week confirmed Campbell-Gillard had been released despite not even entering the first season of a five-year extension he signed last year.
The Eels, who have gone from rock bottom to title challengers in a year, have handed Campbell-Gillard a deal for the same length of time but it is understood Penrith will pay a portion of his salary for a number of years.
Campbell-Gillard departs 18 months after making his State of Origin debut with NSW, which came less than a year after his maiden Kangaroos appearance.
“You want to kick on a bit after making those teams, and that wasn’t the case this year,” he said. “But I’m not going to allow that to stay at that point.
“I’ll be doing everything I can to push for that next year.”
Campbell-Gillard is the latest in a growing list of Panthers to leave despite being signed to long-term deals, including Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Waqa Blake and James Maloney.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary defended his roster shake-up at the club’s end-of- season awards, where they confirmed 10 departures.
“Throughout the year we made some significant changes or decisions around the roster (for) the flexibility and sustainability of our salary cap, which essentially is looking after the future of the club,” Cleary said.
“Some of the decisions we make are best for all the Panthers stakeholders, whether it’s players, staff, corporate partners but also fans.”
Cleary, who also lashed out at the media for what he perceived as heavy criticism of his controversial return to the club and his team’s poor start to the year, accepted part of the blame for underachieving this season.
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“As the head coach I take responsibility for the results this year. I don’t believe I was at my best,” he said. “But along the way I’ve learned a lot.
“I’ve faced some challenges this year that I never have before.
“It’s made me stronger, more understanding of the job, myself, and I approach the future next year more motivated as I ever have before.”
Panthers forward James Fisher-Harris cleaned up with three awards, including the Merv Cartwright medal as the club’s best player of the season.